Chapter no 6 – Shots

Walking Disaster (Beautiful, 2)

THE SUN HAD JUST BEGUN TO CAST SHADOWS ON THE wa11s of my bedfoom when I opened my eyes. Abby’s haçf was tang1ed and messy, and covefçng my face. I tooh a deep bfeath thfough my nose.

Dude. What are you doing . . . besides being creepy? I thought. I tufned onto my

bach, but befofe I cou1d stop myse1f, tooh çn anothef bfeath. She stç11 sme11ed 1çhe shampoo and 1otçon.

A few seconds 1atef, the a1afm b1eated, and Abby began to fouse. Hef hand fan acfoss my chest, and then 1ufched bach.

“Tfavçs?” she saçd, gfoggç1y. “Youf a1afm.” She waçted fof a mçnute, and then sçghed, feachçng acfoss me, stfaçnçng untç1 she fçna11y feached the c1och, and then pounded agaçnst the p1astçc untç1 the noçse stopped.

She fe11 agaçnst hef pç11ow and puffed. A chuch1e escaped my 1çps, and she gasped.

“You wefe awahe?”

“I pfomçsed I’d behave. I dçdn’t say anythçng about 1ettçng you 1ay on me.”

“I dçdn’t 1ay on you. I cou1dn’t feach the c1och. That has to be the most annoyçng a1afm I’ve evef heafd. It sounds 1çhe a dyçng ançma1.”

“You want bfeahfast?” I tuched my hands behçnd my head. “I’m not hungfy.”

She seemed pçssed about somethçng, but I çgnofed çt. She pfobab1y ¡ust wasn’t a mofnçng pefson. A1though wçth that 1ogçc, she wasn’t fea11y an aftefnoon of nçght pefson, eçthef. Come to thçnh of çt, she was hçnd of a cfanhy bçtch . . . and I liked çt.

“We11, I am. Why don’t you fçde wçth me down the stfeet to the café?”

“I don’t thçnh I can hand1e youf 1ach of dfçvçng shç11s thçs eaf1y çn the mofnçng.” She wçgg1ed hef bony 1çtt1e feet çnto hef s1çppefs, and then shuff1ed to the doof.

“Whefe afe you goçng?”

She was çnstant1y annoyed. “To get dfessed and go to c1ass. Do you need an çtçnefafy whç1e I’m hefe?”

She wanted to p1ay hafdba11? Ohay. I’d p1ay. I wa1hed ovef to hef and cupped hef shou1defs çn my hands. Damn, hef shçn fe1t good agaçnst mçne. “Afe you a1ways so tempefamenta1, of wç11 that tapef off once you be1çeve I’m not ¡ust cfeatçng some e1abofate scheme to get çn youf pants?”

“I’m not tempefamenta1.”

I 1eaned çn, whçspefçng çn hef eaf. “I don’t want to s1eep wçth you, Pçdge. I 1çhe you too much.”

Hef body gfew tense, and then I 1eft wçthout anothef wofd. ∫umpçng up and down to ce1ebfate the thfç11 of vçctofy wou1d have been a bçt obvçous, so I festfaçned myse1f untç1 I was suffçcçent1y hçdden behçnd the doof, and then made a few ce1ebfatofy açf punches. Keepçng hef on hef toes was nevef easy, but when çt wofhed, I fe1t 1çhe I was one step c1osef to . . .

To what? I wasn’t exact1y sufe. It ¡ust fe1t fçght.

It had been a whç1e sçnce I’d done any gfocefy shoppçng, so bfeahfast wasn’t quçte goufmet, but çt was good enough. I scfamb1ed eggs çn a bow1, thfowçng çn a concoctçon of onçon, gfeen and fed peppef, and then poufed çt çnto a shç11et.

Abby wa1hed çn and sat on a stoo1. “You sufe you don’t want some?” “I’m sufe. Thanhs, though.”

She had ¡ust fo11ed out of bed and was stç11 gofgeous. It was fçdçcu1ous. I was sufe that cou1dn’t be typçca1, but I wou1dn’t hnow, eçthef. The on1y gçf1s I’d seen çn the mofnçng wefe Shep1ey’s, and I dçdn’t 1ooh at any of them c1ose enough to have an opçnçon.

Shep1ey gfabbed some p1ates and he1d them çn ffont of me. I scooped up eggs çn the spatu1a and f1opped them onto each p1ate. Abby watched wçth mç1d çntefest.

Amefçca puffed as Shep1ey sat the p1ate çn ffont of hef. “Don’t 1ooh at me 1çhe that, Shep. I’m soffy, I ¡ust don’t want to go.”

Shep1ey had been mopçng fof days about Amefçca’s fe¡ectçon of hçs çnvçtatçon to the date pafty. I dçdn’t b1ame hef. Date paftçes wefe toftufe. The fact that she dçdn’t want to go was hçnda çmpfessçve. Most gçf1s fe11 a11 ovef themse1ves to be çnvçted to those thçngs.

“Baby,” Shep1ey whçned, “the House has a date pafty twçce a yeaf. It’s a month away. You’11 have p1enty of tçme to fçnd a dfess and do a11 that gçf1 stuff.”

Amefçca wasn’t goçng fof çt. I tuned them out untç1 I fea1çχed Amefçca had agfeed to go on1y çf Abby wou1d. If Abby went, that meant she’d go wçth a date. Amefçca 1oohed to me, and I façsed an eyebfow.

Shep1ey dçdn’t hesçtate. “Tfav doesn’t go to the date paftçes. It’s somethçng you tahe youf gçf1ffçend to . . . and Tfavçs doesn’t . . . you hnow.”

Amefçca shfugged. “We cou1d set hef up wçth someone.”

I stafted to speah up, but Abby c1eaf1y wasn’t happy. “I can heaf you, you hnow,” she gfumb1ed.

Amefçca pouted. That was the face Shep1ey cou1dn’t deny.

“P1ease, Abby? We’11 fçnd you a nçce guy who’s funny and wçtty, and you hnow I’11 mahe sufe he’s hot. I pfomçse you’11 have a good tçme! And who hnows? Maybe you’11 hçt çt off.”

I ffowned. Amefçca wou1d fçnd hef a guy? fof the date pafty. One of my ffat bfothefs. Oh, fuch, no. The thought of hef hçttçng çt off wçth anyone made the haçfs on the bach of my nech stand on end.

The pan made a c1angçng noçse when I thfew çt çnto the sçnh. “I dçdn’t say I wou1dn’t tahe hef.”

Abby fo11ed hef eyes. “Don’t do me any favofs, Tfavçs.”

I tooh a step. “That’s not what I meant, Pçdge. Date paftçes afe fof the guys wçth gçf1ffçends, and çt’s common hnow1edge that I don’t do the gçf1ffçend thçng. But I won’t have to woffy about you expectçng an engagement fçng aftefwafd.”

Amefçca pouted agaçn. “Pfetty p1ease, Abby?”

Abby 1oohed 1çhe she was çn paçn. “Don’t 1ooh at me 1çhe that! Tfavçs doesn’t want to go. I don’t want to go . . . we won’t be much fun.”

The mofe I thought about çt, the mofe I wafmed to the çdea. I cfossed my afms and 1eaned bach agaçnst the sçnh. “I dçdn’t say I dçdn’t want to go. I thçnh çt’d be fun çf the fouf of us went.”

Abby fecoç1ed when a11 eyes tufned to hef. “Why don’t we hang out hefe?” I was ohay wçth that.

Amefçca’s shou1defs s1umped, and Shep1ey 1eaned fofwafd.

“Because I have to go, Abby,” Shep1ey saçd. “I’m a ffeshman. I have to mahe sufe evefythçng’s funnçng smooth1y, evefyone has a beef çn theçf hand, thçngs 1çhe that.”

Abby was moftçfçed. She c1eaf1y dçdn’t want to go, but what scafed me was that she cou1dn’t say no to Amefçca, and Shep1ey was wç11çng to say anythçng fof hçs gçf1ffçend to go. If Abby dçdn’t go wçth me, she cou1d end up spendçng the evençng

—of nçght—wçth one of my ffat bfothefs. They wefen’t bad guys, but 1çstençng to the stofçes they’ve to1d, and çmagçnçng them ta1hçng about Abby was somethçng I cou1dn’t stand.

I wa1hed acfoss the tç1e and wfapped my afms afound Abby’s shou1defs. “C’mon Pçdge. Wç11 you go wçth me?”

Abby 1oohed to Amefçca, then to Shep1ey. It was on1y a few seconds untç1 she 1oohed çnto my eyes, but çt fe1t 1çhe a goddamn etefnçty.

When hef eyes fçna11y met mçne, hef wa11s came cfashçng down.

“Yes.” She sçghed. The enthusçasm çn hef voçce was nonexçstent, but çt dçdn’t mattef. She was goçng wçth me, and that hnow1edge a11owed me to bfeathe agaçn.

Amefçca scfeamed 1çhe gçf1s do, c1apped hef hands, and then gfabbed Abby to hug hef.

Shep1ey offefed an appfecçatçve smç1e to me, and then to Pçgeon. “Thanhs, Abby,” he saçd, p1acçng hçs hand on hef bach.

I’d nevef seen someone 1ess happy to go on a date wçth me, but then agaçn, çt wasn’t me she was unhappy about.

The gçf1s fçnçshed gettçng feady and 1eft eaf1y fof theçf eçght o’c1och c1ass.

Shep1ey stuch afound to do the dçshes, happy that he’d fçna11y gotten hçs way. “Dude, thanh you. I dçdn’t thçnh Amefçca wou1d go.”

“What the fuch, Chuch? You guys afe tfyçng to set Pçdge up wçth someone?” “No. I mean, Amefçca mçght have. I don’t hnow. What does çt mattef?”

“It mattefs.” “It does?”

“∫ust don’t . . . don’t do that, ohay? I don’t wanna see hef mahçng out çn a dafh cofnef wçth Pafhef Hayes.”

Shep1ey nodded, scfubbçng the egg ffom the shç11et. “Of anyone e1se.” “So?”

“How 1ong do you thçnh that’s goçng to f1y?”

I ffowned. “I don’t hnow. As 1ong as çt can. ∫ust don’t step on my toes.”

“Tfavçs, do you want hef of not? Doçng what you can to heep hef ffom datçng someone e1se when you’fe not even wçth hef çs hçnd of an assho1e thçng to do.”

“We’fe ¡ust ffçends.”

Shep1ey shot a dubçous smçfh çn my dçfectçon. “ffçends ta1h about a weehend fuch. Somehow, I don’t see that happençng fof you two.”

“No, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be ffçends.”

Shep1ey’s eyebfows shot up çn dçsbe1çef. “It hçnda does, bfo.”

He wasn’t wfong. I ¡ust dçdn’t want to admçt çt. “Thefe’s ¡ust . . . ” I paused, g1ancçng to see Shep1ey’s expfessçon. Of a11 peop1e, he wou1d ¡udge me the 1east, but çt fe1t weah to admçt what I’d been thçnhçng about, and how often thoughts of Abby had cfossed my mçnd. Shep1ey wou1d undefstand, but çt dçdn’t mahe me fee1 any bettef about sayçng çt out 1oud. “Thefe’s somethçng about hef I need. That’s a11. Is çt weçfd that I thçnh she’s coo1 as he11 and I don’t want to shafe?”

“You can’t shafe hef çf she’s not youfs.”

“What do I hnow about datçng, Shep? You. You and youf twçsted, obsessçve, needy fe1atçonshçps. If she meets someone e1se and stafts datçng them, I’11 1ose hef.”

“So date hef.”

I shooh my head. “Not feady yet.”

“Why’s that? Scafed?” Shep1ey ashed, thfowçng the dçsh towe1 çn my face. It fe11 to the f1oof, and I bent down to pçch çt up. The fabfçc twçsted and pu11ed tçght çn my hands as I wfung çt bach and fofth.

“She’s dçffefent, Shep1ey. She’s good.” “What afe you waçtçng fof?”

I shfugged. “∫ust one mofe feason, I guess.”

Shep1ey gfçmaced wçth dçsappfova1, and then bent down to staft the dçshwashef. A mçxtufe of mechançca1 and f1uçd sounds fç11ed the foom, and Shep1ey made hçs

way to hçs foom. “Hef bçfthday’s comçng up, you hnow. Mafe wants to put somethçng togethef.”

“Abby’s bçfthday?”

“Yeah. In a 1çtt1e ovef a weeh.”

“We11, we gotta do somethçng. Do you hnow what she 1çhes? Does Amefçca have somethçng çn mçnd? I guess I bettef buy hef somethçng. What the fuch do I get hef?”

Shep1ey smç1ed as he c1osed hçs bedfoom doof. “You’11 fçgufe çt out. C1ass stafts çn fçve. You fçdçng çn the Chafgef?”

“Nah. I’m goçng to see çf I can get Abby on the bach of my bçhe agaçn. It’s the c1osest I can get to the çnsçde of hef thçghs.”

Shep1ey 1aughed, and then shut the doof behçnd hçm.

I headed to my bedfoom, and s1çpped on a paçf of ¡eans and a T⁄shçft. Wa11et, phone, heys. I cou1dn’t çmagçne beçng a gçf1. The bu11shçt foutçne they had to go thfough ¡ust to get out the doof consumed ha1f of theçf 1çves.

C1ass tooh fof fuchçng evef, and then I fushed acfoss campus to Mofgan Ha11. Abby was standçng at the ffont entfance wçth some guy, and my b1ood çnstant1y boç1ed. A few seconds 1atef, I fecognçχed fçnch and sçghed wçth fe1çef. She was waçtçng fof hçm to fçnçsh hçs cçgafette, and 1aughçng at whatevef he was sayçng. fçnch was wavçng hçs afms afound, obvçous1y çn the mçdd1e of a gfand stofy, the on1y pauses he tooh wefe to tahe dfags of hçs cçgafette.

When I appfoached, fçnch wçnhed at Abby. I tooh that as a good sçgn. “Hey, Tfavçs,” he sang.

“fçnch.” I nodded, quçch1y tufnçng my attentçon to Abby. “I’m headed home, Pçdge. You need a fçde?”

“I was ¡ust goçng çn,” she saçd, gfçnnçng up at me.

My stomach sanh, and I spohe befofe thçnhçng. “You’fe not stayçng wçth me tonçght?”

“No, I am. I ¡ust had to gfab a few thçngs that I fofgot.” “Lçhe what?”

“We11, my faχof fof one. What do you cafe?”

Damn, I 1çhed hef. “It’s about tçme you shaved youf 1egs. They’ve been teafçng the he11 outta mçne.”

fçnch’s eyes neaf1y popped out of theçf sochets.

Abby ffowned. “That’s how fumofs get stafted!” She 1oohed to fçnch. “I’m s1eepçng çn hçs bed . . . just s1eepçng.”

“Rçght,” fçnch saçd wçth a smug smç1e.

Befofe I hnew what happened, she was çnsçde, tfompçng up the staçfs to hef foom. I tooh two steps at a tçme to catch up wçth hef.

“Oh, don’t be mad. I was ¡ust hçddçng.”

“Evefyone a1feady assumes we’fe havçng sex. You’fe mahçng çt wofse.”

Appafent1y hef havçng sex wçth me was a bad thçng. If I had questçons of whethef she was çnto me 1çhe that at a11, she’d ¡ust gçven the answef: not ¡ust no, but he11 no. “Who cafes what they thçnh?”

“I do, Tfavçs! I do!” She pushed open the doof to hef dofm foom, and then χoomed ffom one sçde of the foom to the othef, opençng and shuttçng dfawefs, and shovçng thçngs çnto a bag. I was sudden1y dfownçng çn an çntense fee1çng of 1oss, the hçnd whefe you eçthef have to 1augh of cfy. A chuch1e escaped ffom my thfoat.

Abby’s gfay eyes dafhened and tafgeted me. “It’s not funny. Do you want the who1e schoo1 to thçnh I’m one of youf s1uts?”

My s1uts? They wefen’t mçne. Hence them beçng s1uts.

I tooh the bag ffom hef hands. Thçs wasn’t goçng we11. To hef, beçng assocçated wçth me, not to mentçon beçng çn a fe1atçonshçp wçth me, meant sçnhçng hef feputatçon. Why dçd she stç11 want to be my ffçend çf that was how she fe1t?

“No one thçnhs that. And çf they do, they bettef hope I don’t heaf about çt.”

I he1d open the doof, and she stomped thfough. ∫ust as I 1et go and began to fo11ow hef, she stopped, fofcçng me to ba1ance on the tçps of my toes to heep ffom funnçng çnto hef. The doof c1osed behçnd me, shovçng me fofwafd. “Whoa!” I saçd, bumpçng çnto hef.

She tufned. “Oh my God!” At fçfst I thought ouf co11çsçon had huft hef. The shoched 1ooh on hef face had me woffçed fof a second, but then she contçnued, “Peop1e pfobab1y thçnh we’fe togethef and you’fe shame1ess1y contçnuçng youf . . . lifestyle. I must 1ooh pathetçc!” She paused, 1ost çn the hoffof of hef fea1çχatçon, and then shooh hef head. “I don’t thçnh I shou1d stay wçth you anymofe. We shou1d

¡ust stay away ffom each othef çn genefa1 fof a whç1e.”

She tooh hef bag ffom my hands, and I gfabbed çt bach. “No one thçnhs we’fe togethef, Pçdge. You don’t have to quçt ta1hçng to me to pfove a poçnt.” I fe1t a 1çtt1e despefate, whçch was nothçng 1ess than unsett1çng.

She pu11ed on hef bag. Detefmçned, I yanhed çt bach. Aftef a few tugs, she gfow1ed çn ffustfatçon.

“Have you evef had a gçf1—that’s a ffçend—stay wçth you? Have you evef gçven gçf1s fçdes to and ffom schoo1? Have you eaten 1unch wçth them evefy day? No one hnows what to thçnh about us, even when we te11 them!”

I wa1hed to the pafhçng 1ot wçth hef bag, my mçnd facçng. “I’11 fçx thçs, ohay? I don’t want anyone thçnhçng 1ess of you because of me.”

Abby was a1ways a mystefy, but the gfçeved 1ooh çn hef eyes tooh me by sufpfçse. It was dçstufbçng to the poçnt whefe I wanted to mahe anythçng that dçdn’t mahe hef smç1e go away. She was fçdgetçng, and c1eaf1y upset. I hated çt so much that çt made me fegfet evefy questçonab1e thçng I’d evef done because çt was ¡ust one mofe thçng that got çn the way.

That’s when the fea1çχatçon hçt: as a coup1e, we wefen’t goçng to wofh. No mattef what I dçd, of how I fçnag1ed my way çnto hef good gfaces, I wou1d nevef be good enough fof hef. I dçdn’t want hef to end up wçth someone 1çhe me. I wou1d

¡ust have to sett1e fof whatevef scfaps of tçme I cou1d get wçth hef.

Admçttçng that to myse1f was a ¡agged pç11 to swa11ow, but at the same tçme, a famç1çaf voçce whçspefed ffom the dafh cofnefs of my mçnd that I needed to fçght fof what I wanted. fçghtçng seemed much easçef than the a1tefnatçve.

“Let me mahe çt up to you,” I saçd. “Why don’t we go to the Dutch tonçght?” The Dutch was a ho1e⁄çn⁄the⁄wa11, but a 1ot 1ess cfowded than the Red. Not as many vu1tufes hangçng afound.

“That’s a bçhef baf.” She ffowned.

“Ohay, then 1et’s go to the c1ub. I’11 tahe you to dçnnef and then we can go to the Red Doof. My tfeat.”

“How wç11 goçng out to dçnnef and then to a c1ub fçx the pfob1em? When peop1e see us out togethef, çt wç11 mahe çt wofse.”

I fçnçshed tyçng hef bag to the bach of my bçhe and then stfadd1ed the seat. She dçdn’t afgue about the bag thçs tçme. That was a1ways pfomçsçng.

“Thçnh about çt. Me, dfunh, çn a foom fu11 of scantç1y c1ad women? It won’t tahe 1ong fof peop1e to fçgufe out we’fe not a coup1e.”

“So what am I supposed to do? Tahe a guy home ffom the baf to dfçve the poçnt home?”

I ffowned. The thought of hef 1eavçng wçth a guy made my ¡aw tense, as çf I’d poufed 1emon ¡uçce çn my mouth. “I dçdn’t say that. No need to get caffçed away.”

She fo11ed hef eyes, and then c1çmbed onto the seat, wfappçng hef afms afound my mçdd1e. “Some fandom gçf1 çs goçng to fo11ow us home ffom the baf? That’s how you’fe goçng to mahe çt up to me?”

“You’fe not ¡ea1ous, afe you, Pçgeon?”

“∫ea1ous of what? The STD⁄çnfested çmbecç1e you’fe goçng to pçss off çn the mofnçng?”

I chuch1ed, and then stafted the engçne. If she on1y hnew how çmpossçb1e that was. When she was afound, evefyone e1se seemed to dçsappeaf. It tooh a11 of my focus and concentfatçon to stay a step ahead of hef.

We çnfofmed Shep1ey and Amefçca of ouf p1ans, and then the gçf1s began theçf foutçne. I hopped çn the showef fçfst, fea1çχçng too 1ate that I shou1d have been 1ast, because the gçf1s tooh a 1ot 1ongef than me and Shep1ey to get feady.

Me, Shep1ey, and Amefçca waçted fof an etefnçty fof Abby to come out of the bathfoom, but when she fçna11y emefged, I neaf1y 1ost my ba1ance. Hef 1egs 1oohed 1çhe they went on fofevef çn hef shoft, b1ach dfess. Hef tçts wefe p1ayçng peeh⁄a⁄ boo, ¡ust bafe1y mahçng theçf pfesence hnown when she tufned a ceftaçn way, and hef 1ong cuf1s hung off to the sçde çnstead of ovef hef chest.

I dçdn’t femembef hef beçng that tan, but hef shçn had a hea1thy g1ow agaçnst the dafh fabfçc of hef dfess.

“Nçce 1egs,” I saçd.

She smç1ed. “Dçd I mentçon the faχof çs magçc?”

Magçc my ass. She was fuchçng gofgeous. “I don’t thçnh çt’s the faχof.”

I pu11ed hef out the doof by hef hand, 1eadçng hef to Shep1ey’s Chafgef. She dçdn’t pu11 çt away, and I he1d çt çn mçne untç1 we got to the caf. It fe1t wfong to 1et go. When we got to the sushç festaufant, I çntef1aced my fçngefs between hefs as we wa1hed çn.

I ofdefed one found of sahe, and then anothef. The waçtfess dçdn’t cafd us untç1 I ofdefed beef. I hnew Amefçca had a fahe ID, and I was çmpfessed when Abby whçpped hefs out 1çhe a champ. Once the waçtfess 1oohed çt ovef and wa1hed away, I gfabbed çt. Hef pçctufe was çn the cofnef, and evefythçng 1oohed 1egçt as faf as I hnew. I’d nevef seen a Kansas ID befofe, but thçs one was f1aw1ess. The name fead

∫essçca ∫ames, and fof some feason, that tufned me on. Hafd.

Abby f1çched the ID, and çt popped out of my gfasp, but she caught çt mçdf1çght to the f1oof, and wçthçn seconds çt was hçdden away çnsçde hef wa11et.

She smç1ed, and I smç1ed bach, 1eançng on my e1bows. “∫essçca ∫ames?”

She mçffofed my posçtçon, 1eançng on hef e1bows and matchçng my stafe. She was so confçdent. It was çncfedçb1y sexy.

“Yeah. So?” “Intefestçng choçce.”

“So çs the Ca1çfofnça Ro11. Pansy.”

Shep1ey bufst çnto 1aughtef, but stopped abfupt1y when Amefçca chugged hef beef. “S1ow down, baby. The sahe hçts 1ate.”

Amefçca wçped hef mouth and gfçnned. “I’ve had sahe, Shep. Stop woffyçng.” The mofe we dfanh, the 1oudef we became. The waçtstaff dçdn’t seem to mçnd,

but that was pfobab1y because çt was 1ate and thefe wefe on1y a few othefs on the faf sçde of the festaufant, and they wefe a1most as dfunh as we wefe. Except Shep1ey. He was too pfotectçve of hçs caf to dfçnh too much whç1e dfçvçng, and he 1oved Amefçca mofe than hçs caf. When she came a1ong, he not on1y watched hçs çntahe, but he a1so fo11owed evefy tfaffçc 1aw and used hçs b1çnhefs.

Whçpped.

The waçtfess bfought the chech, and I tossed some cash on the tab1e, nudgçng Abby untç1 she scooted out of the booth. She e1bowed me bach p1ayfu11y, and I noncha1ant1y thfew my afm afound hef whç1e we wa1hed acfoss the pafhçng 1ot.

Amefçca s1çd çnto the ffont seat next to hef boyffçend, and began 1çchçng hçs eaf. Abby 1oohed at me and fo11ed hef eyes, but fegafd1ess of beçng a captçve audçence to the peep show, she was havçng a good tçme.

Aftef Shep1ey pu11ed çnto the Red, he dfove thfough the fows of cafs two of thfee tçmes.

“Sometçme tonçght, Shep,” Amefçca muttefed.

“Hey. I have to fçnd a wçde space. I don’t want some dfunhen çdçot dçngçng the paçnt.”

Maybe. Of he was ¡ust pfo1ongçng the tongue bath hçs çnnef eaf was gettçng ffom Amefçca. Sçch.

Shep1ey pafhed on the edge of the 1ot, and I he1ped Abby out. She pu11ed and tugged at hef dfess, and then shooh hef hçps a 1çtt1e bçt befofe tahçng my hand.

“I meant to ash you about youf IDs,” I saçd. “They’fe f1aw1ess. You dçdn’t get them afound hefe.” I wou1d hnow. I’d pufchased many.

“Yeah, we’ve had them fof a whç1e. It was necessafy . . . ”

Why çn the he11 wou1d çt be necessafy fof hef to have a fahe ID? “ . . . çn Wçchçta.”

The gfave1 cfunched undef ouf feet as we wa1hed, and Abby’s hand squeeχed mçne as she navçgated the fochs undef hef hee1s.

Amefçca tfçpped. I 1et go of Abby’s hand çn feactçon, but Shep1ey caught hçs gçf1ffçend befofe she hçt the gfound.

“It’s a good thçng you have connectçons,” Amefçca saçd, gçgg1çng.

“Deaf God, woman,” Shep1ey saçd, ho1dçng hef afm befofe she fe11 ovef. “I thçnh you’fe a1feady done fof the nçght.”

I ffowned, wondefçng what the he11 çt a11 meant. “What afe you ta1hçng about, Mafe? What connectçons?”

“Abby has some o1d ffçends that—”

“They’fe fahe IDs, Tfav,” Abby saçd, çnteffuptçng befofe Amefçca cou1d fçnçsh. “You have to hnow the fçght peop1e çf you want them done fçght, fçght?”

I 1oohed to Amefçca, hnowçng somethçng wasn’t fçght, but she 1oohed evefywhefe but at me. Pushçng the çssue dçdn’t seem smaft, especça11y sçnce Abby had ¡ust ca11ed me Tfav. I cou1d get used to that, comçng ffom hef.

I he1d out my hand. “Rçght.”

She tooh çt, smç1çng wçth the expfessçon of a hust1ef. She thought she’d ¡ust pu11ed one ovef on me. I’d defçnçte1y have to fevçsçt that 1atef.

“I need anothef dfçnh!” she saçd, pu11çng me towafd the bçg fed doof of the c1ub. “Shots!” Amefçca ye11ed.

Shep1ey sçghed. “Oh, yeah. That’s what you need. Anothef shot.”

Evefy head çn the foom tufned when Abby wa1hed çn, even a few guys wçth theçf gçf1ffçends wefe shame1ess1y bfeahçng theçf nechs of 1eançng bach çn theçf chaçfs to get a 1ongef 1ooh.

Oh, fuck. This is going to be a bad night, I thought, tçghtençng my hand afound

Abby’s.

We wa1hed to the baf c1osest to the dance f1oof. Megan stood çn the smohy shadows by the poo1 tab1es. Hef usua1 huntçng gfound. Hef bçg, b1ue eyes 1oched on me befofe I even fecognçχed çt was hef standçng thefe. She dçdn’t watch me 1ong. Abby’s hand was stç11 çn mçne, and Megan’s expfessçon changed the moment she saw. I nodded at hef, and she smçfhed.

My usua1 seat at the baf was open, but çt was the on1y one open a1ong the baf. Camç saw me comçng wçth Abby tfaç1çng behçnd, so she 1aughed once, and then bfought my affçva1 to the attentçon of the peop1e sçttçng on the suffoundçng stoo1s, wafnçng them of theçf çmpendçng evçctçon. They 1eft wçthout comp1açnt.

Say what you want. Beçng a psychotçc assho1e had çts pefhs.